


Yes, Madam Mayor

by TinyNerdsbian



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Anti-CS, Anti-Hook, Anti-Snow White, BDSM, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:00:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4701890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyNerdsbian/pseuds/TinyNerdsbian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Emma comes bursting into her office, ranting nonsensically, Regina thinks of a plan to help Emma regain control over her emotions, by taking away her control.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kneel

It started one crisp October afternoon with Emma bursting into Regina’s office, ranting nonsensically. At first, Regina tried to follow, only catching the occasional muttering of “Hook”, “Savior”, and “Charming” before she had had enough.

 

“Miss Swan,” Regina snapped, allowing her tone to slip back into Mayor Mills with a hint of Evil Queen and secretly loving the way Emma’s head snapped up; green eyes blown wide and mouth gaping. “Sit.” 

 

Regina watched with thinly veiled arrogance as Emma soundlessly made her way to a chair in front of her desk. Once Emma was seated and silent, Regina pushed herself out of her chair and moved around her desk to perch at the edge of it. “Now, speak. Slowly.”

 

“Everyone expects so much from me,” Emma mumbled, sighing when she met Regina’s gaze and finding that the other woman wasn’t going to let her off that easy. “To Hook, I’m just his eye and arm candy. It’s all about ‘but love’ this and ‘Swan’ that, followed by some tangent about how I’m his ‘lass’, so I always have to ‘have his back’, even if Will is a better shot,” the last bit came out as a petulant grumble, forcing Regina to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent the smile trying to break through. 

 

“David is disgustingly noble and never seems to sit, I swear, he’s hoping for a new villain. ‘Have you checked the town line recently, Emma? Have you patrolled the woods? Been down to the mines?’ Everyone in this town is so goddamn stuck on this Savior crap, I swear that the majority of them don’t even know my name,” Emma finally ended her rant and took a much needed breath; shocking Regina with tears threatening to spill.

 

Regina studied Emma’s tense posture, tear lined eyes, slightly blushed cheeks; her face as a whole showing faint signs of embarrassment and irritation at her tears. Regina honestly thought that Emma would benefit from having her control stripped from her, but wasn’t sure if Emma’s legendary stubbornness would allow it. With a skillfully hidden deep breath, Regina pushed off her desk and made her way back to her chair. With every step, she could feel Emma’s eyes on her, confused and slowly filling with disappointment, but acted like she didn’t notice and got back to work.

 

“Kneel,” Regina said curtly after several minutes of thick silence, not looking away from the computer screen.

 

“What?” Emma asked in pure bewilderment.

 

“Pardon,” Regina responded, her eyes still off Emma. If this was going to work, she knew she couldn’t make a big deal out of it.

 

“Huh?” Emma’s confusion grew and began to morph into the irritation she frequently experienced when Regina was in a withholding mood.

 

“The proper way to express confusion at a previously given statement,” Regina began to explain, finally moving her eyes to meet Emma’s. “Or, if you did not hear said statement, is to say ‘pardon’, not ‘what’.” 

 

She couldn’t help but smirk at Emma’s rolling eyes, pleased to see a bit of the old sheriff breaking through. “I’ll go ahead and assume that you heard me just fine and were simply unsure as to what I said. I wish for you to kneel beside my desk in silence. Every word spoken will result in five minutes added,” Regina didn’t pretend to not notice the curiosity mixed with a hint of relief in Emma’s eyes as she continued to look into them. 

 

“Well? I’m not getting any younger,” this time she hid her pleased smile as Emma slowly and shakily moved to get out of the chair. 

 

Regina turned her attention back to her computer while keeping Emma in her periphery. She was glad that the computer now fully hid her face, because she could not keep the smile off of it as Emma hesitantly shifted toward the side of Regina’s desk. The smile only grew wider and more proud as Emma finally took a deep breath and carefully sank to her knees beside the desk, only just in Regina’s eye line. 

 

“Regina…?” Emma’s quiet voice tore through the silence, causing Regina to roll her eyes and suppress a laugh. She wasn’t entirely surprised that Emma hadn’t even made it a full five minutes, but she didn’t want to back down and appear light; that wouldn’t help Emma. 

 

“Miss Swan,” she sighed in feigned annoyance, pushing her chair back from her desk. “Why am I not surprised that you couldn’t even last five minutes?” 

 

She leaned back in her chair just enough to make eye contact with Emma, who appeared only a slightly bit more relaxed than when she arrived. “To answer your obvious, yet unasked, question; no, you are not done. I will tell you when you are done.” 

 

She didn’t actually have a specific time frame set, she was waiting for Emma to let go and just relax and accept her position; though she couldn’t help but notice the faint shiver that shot through Emma at her tone. 

 

After an additional five minutes, Regina noticed that Emma finally released her clenched fists, the knuckles no longer white, though she had moved on to drumming them against her knees, something Regina had come to learn as a nervous habit. 

 

Another five minutes and Emma’s hands now rested silently on her thighs. Nearly fifteen minutes later, Regina had all but forgotten Emma was there until a soft sigh shocked her out of work induced trance. 

She turned to Emma, ready to scold her again for her impatience, but found Emma’s shoulders loose and her chin resting against her chest; her sigh had been one, seemingly, of surrender. She turned back to her paperwork, opting to give Emma a few more moments of their contented silence before having to regrettably send her back to work. 

 

Once she signed the last sheet of an agonizingly long report on the renovations for the church, she glanced at her clock and realized she had let Emma sit there for nearly forty-five minutes. She quickly glanced down at Emma and found her just as she had five pages ago; completely and utterly relaxed. She quietly moved out of her chair to kneel in front of Emma, gently tilting her chin up so their eyes met.

 

“Feel better?” she asked softly, any and all harshness leaving her voice. Emma merely nodded, a soft smile on her face and Regina smiled in return when she noticed that Emma made no attempt to move. 

 

“Next time you feel this way, I want you to come back here and repeat what we did today, okay?” she received another nod, stood and offered her hand to help Emma up, placing steadying hands on Emma’s shoulders until the other woman stopped wobbling. 

 

Without another word exchanged, Emma turned toward the door and back to work, while Regina returned to her chair and paperwork.


	2. Speak

A week later, Emma returned; though not quite as bombastically, her bursting into the room still caused Regina to jump and a pile of papers to topple. She fixed Emma with a glare so steely, the other woman froze in place and quickly shut her mouth, effectively ending any rant she could have ready before it even started. Emma stood, looking quite like a scolded child, but Regina felt no empathy. Without a word and without changing the severity of her look, Regina maintained eye contact with Emma, and pointed to the space next to her desk, silently pleased when Emma offered no resistance and quietly moved to the spot and got to her knees. 

 

While Regina was proud that Emma had followed her instructions, she was honestly worried at the length Emma remained by her desk. Though she never once spoke a word and kept her eyes on her knees, Regina could not keep her eyes off of Emma. Thirty minutes had passed since she had taken the spot next to Regina’s desk and Emma’s posture had not changed; her only movement being the frequent clenching and unclenching of her fists and the occasional angry shake of her head. Regina watched this behavior for another five minutes, then put her pen down and turned to gain Emma’s attention.

 

“Emma,” she prompted in a light tone as to not startle the blonde too much, though when Emma’s head remained bowed, she became stern. “Emma. Look at me.” 

 

She watched Emma take a shuddering breath before turning her gaze to Regina and, this time, Regina was prepared for the tears in Emma’s eyes. 

 

“Stop thinking so much. Your purpose here is to clear your mind and relax, not to over think whatever has you so worked up. Now,” Regina snapped her fingers when she noticed Emma’s gaze wavering. “I want you to relax and clear your mind,” she paused and gave Emma a small and snarky grin. “That shouldn’t be too hard for you,” her smile turned to a true one when she received a small chuckle from Emma. 

 

After an additional five minutes, Regina began to notice, with barely hidden relief, that Emma had finally begun to relax. Her fists were still clenched but her shoulders lost most of their tension, with her spine following slowly behind; each vertebrae releasing with each passing breath. Within ten minutes, Emma was fully relaxed; hands unclenched and draped on her knees, shoulders and back lax and head hung low.

 

While Regina noticed this change, she made no move to relieve Emma of her position and was, once again, shocked into knocking over her pile of paper work as Emma abruptly stood and made her way for the door.

"And just where do you think you're going, Miss Swan?" Regina inquired curtly. "I don't recall dismissing you."

 

"I'm going back to work, Regina," Emma responded with a sigh. "Is that alright with you?"

 

"I would like you to sit and tell me what had you so upset."

 

"Look, Regina," Emma sighed once again, halted at the door, hand on the doorknob but making no move to open it or turn around. "You told me when I get overwhelmed, to come kneel, or whatever, and I did. You didn't say anything about talking."

 

"The point, Emma," Regina began, suddenly close behind Emma, making it the blonde's turn to jump. 

"Was to relieve you of the control you keep on your emotions, so you can release them and no longer feel overwhelmed and weighed down. How do you expect any kind of release if you don't talk about it?"

 

"Well, the first step is to walk through the door," Emma answered, her legendary stubbornness taking hold. "Then, I leave and don't talk. Simple as that," Emma managed one foot over the threshold before a quiet, steely voice caused her to freeze.

 

"Emma Jean Swan," Regina's voice barely registered above a whisper, but carried an edge so sharp, it could cut glass. "Sit. Down. Now."

 

Though slight, Regina was able to register a shiver shoot down Emma's spine before the other woman was able to straighten her back and step back into the room, shutting the door.

 

"I knew I shouldn't have told you my middle name," Emma grumbled as she begrudgingly made her way to the chairs opposite Regina's desk and flopped down into one, petulantly crossing her arms over her chest. She childishly kept her eyes on her knees while Regina crossed the room to take up her customary spot, leaning against her desk and waited for Emma to speak.

 

"Well?" Regina snapped after several minutes of silence and watching Emma fiddle with a loose string on her shirt. Her frustration rose when the only response she received was rushed and mumbled. "Emma, I swear to all the deities in all the realms, if you do not open your damn mouth and speak up, I will keep you here all night until you do."

 

"Henry doesn't love me," though still mumbled, Emma spoke at a volume that was at least intelligible.

 

"Emma, that's ridiculous," Regina scoffed softly, not wanting to upset Emma further, but unable to believe her ears. "Henry absolutely adores you."

 

"He has to love me, because I gave him life," Emma sighed, frustrated with the forced talk. "But he doesn't really like me."

 

"Emma, please explain yourself," Regina begged, her agitation growing with Emma's usual withholding nature.

 

Emma released a sigh that could rival a surly teenager's and kept her gaze on her ever bouncing knee. "He doesn't want to hang out with me anymore. It's either you, which I think is great and perfect," she quickly added her amending statement when she noticed a fire igniting in Regina's eyes. "Or my parents, or the baby. For god's sake, he'd rather hang out with Hook more than me," she angrily swiped at a tear that managed to escape and slide down her cheek, still refusing to make eye contact with Regina. "He only wants me when I'm the Savior."

 

Regina couldn't help the sad sigh at Emma's defeated tone and her orphan mentality rearing its ugly head. 

 

"Oh, Emma," Regina pushed off the edge of the desk, took the empty seat next to Emma and gently grasped the other woman's chin, giving her no choice but to make eye contact. "Henry is 14, so at this point, a one handed pirate is probably cooler than anything else," she silently rejoiced at the tiny victory that was Emma Swan's snorted chuckle. "But Emma, you are the sun and moon and everything in between to that boy," Regina's grip on Emma's chin tightened when the blonde tried to shake her head and look away. "No, don't scoff. He loves you endlessly."

 

“If you say so,” Emma responded quietly, still unsure, but allowing a small smile to grow on her face.

 

“I do,” Regina shot back with a smirk and a wink. She stood in front of Emma a moment longer, taking that time to momentarily reflect on their unusual habit of completely ignoring each other’s personal space, before taking a breath and stepping back. “Now, back to work, sheriff.”

 

“Yes, Madam Mayor,” Emma relished in their witty, borderline flirtatious banter, coupled with the new sense of relief she felt, though she wasn’t quite ready to let Regina know just how effective her method was. She pushed out of the chair and made her way to the office door; throwing a wink back at Regina before crossing the threshold and heading back to the station.


	3. Cuffs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina takes a new step toward helping Emma work through her problems.

“I cannot believe the fucking nerve of some people!” Emma all but screeched after storming into Regina’s office, causing the brunette to actually yelp at the sudden explosion. “Just take a damn second to pull your head out of your ass and think of other people for fuck’s sake!”

 

“Emma,” Regina sighed, one hand over her heart, trying to calm it through her skin. “Calm down and try to remember –“

 

“I broke up with Hook,” Emma interrupted Regina’s words, seemingly not done with her rant and her face showing no end in sight. 

 

“Or tried. Tried. He said no. Who the shit says no? Does he realize that that doesn’t change the fact that it is over? Because it is over. And just because his dumbass doesn’t want it, doesn’t mean I’m just gonna crawl back there and stand listlessly by his side because he wants to show off what a ‘nice guy’ he is now. He’s not. I don’t know why I didn’t see it last year. He lied. Granted, it was through omission, but I mean, really. How hard is it to say ‘Hey, maybe don’t put your face on my face because the Wicked Witch of the damn West cursed it to take away your magic, because it’s the only thing that can stop her.’ IT IS NOT THAT HARD. Oh, and ‘I gave up my ship for you’?! I fell for that, Regina! I kissed him because he gave up his ship ‘for’ me. What am I, sixteen?! Can we recreate that time machine spell so I can go back and smack some sense into my dumbass self. Sure, there were some good times, but that lasted all of two months. And now he has the nerve to say no? He literally said no. I said, ‘Hook, this just isn’t working. It was fun, but it’s clear we weren’t really meant to be together. I care for you, but I’m sorry, it’s over’ and then he looked at me, I swear, for five minutes straight, said ‘no’ and walked the fuck away. What in the actual shit, man?!”

 

“Emma, please,” Regina tried her best to interject, not only to remind Emma of their agreement; she had been upholding it fairly well since they started a month previous, having been in three times in the past week, but she was hoping to give the ranting blonde a moment to breathe. Hope filled her when the red-faced sheriff paused for a breath, then stripped Regina of her previously held optimism and patience as she launched off into, apparently, a new topic.

 

“Oh, and then there’s Snow,” Emma practically snarled, her face expressing the full distaste she currently felt for her mother. “Snow Mother-Fucking White. I’m already pissed, because Idiot said no to a breakup, and she starts to tell me about how she and David are going on a date. No ‘how was your day, dear?’ no ‘Hey, Emma, why do you look like you’re going to punch everything with a penis within a 50,000 foot radius.’ Just goes on and on and on about the beautiful restaurant he found ‘on the internets’ and how it looks ‘just like home’. And then,” 

 

Emma actually stopped herself at this point, her entire body clenched and shaking; took a breath and continued. “And then, she starts to tell me about the baby’s nightly routine, when he eats, how to hold him to make sure he eats, the exact time for his bath and his favorite way to be rocked to sleep. Naturally, I’m really fuckin’ confused and when I interrupted her demonstration on proper poop wiping technique to ask why in the hell she’s telling me all this, she looks at me like I have six heads and every single one of them is a dense moron and says ‘Emma, you’re watching him.’ She didn’t bother to ask if I had other plans, she didn’t bother to ask if I wanted to. I love him, he’s delicious but he is not my child. Oh, and sure it’s convenient to dump him on me when it suits her, but the second any kind of magic appears around me, god forbid she let her precious angel baby anywhere near me,” Emma took another second to calm herself, refusing to allow baby Neal to take the blame for her mother’s infraction. 

 

Regina jumped at the opportunity to get Emma’s attention, but a moment too late because Emma was off again. 

 

“And when I ask why she just assumed that I had the time or energy to watch him, she got that same dumbstruck look on her face; she had the nerve to look offended and said ‘we are family.’ Family means dropping everything when it is convenient to her, but give her any chance to ditch me, again, and that family shit goes right out the --,” Emma’s sentence came to an abrupt end as a deep throated moan took over; the culprit being the newly conjured riding crop Regina had just smacked the back of her thighs with. 

 

Regina’s first reaction came in the form of eyebrows so high they were halfway to her hairline; just as quickly as the riding crop appeared in her hand, a devious and delicious smile appeared when the sound of Emma’s escaped moan hit her ears. 

 

“Why, Miss Swan,” Regina hummed, her smirk ever growing as she moved to the front of Emma’s shock stilled body, coming to a stop when she was face to face with the blonde; trailing the riding crop across Emma’s body and tantalizingly filling her personal space. “How interesting.”

 

Emma’s quick, pounding heart rate, once fueled by deep felt anger, and not a little hurt, practically doubled as lust coursed through her body. She took several deep breaths in a vain attempt to slow its beating, only to find it picking up again as she made contact with Regina’s darkened gaze. 

 

“Please do that again.”

 

Regina’s smirk turned predatory as she slid the riding crop up the front of Emma’s body; starting at the hem of her jeans, slowing as the leather skimmed between her breasts and ended just under her chin. Maintaining their eye contact; Regina’s sultry gaze and Emma’s pleading one, but not speaking, Regina grasped Emma’s hand and poofed them into her room, forsaking any and all work for the day.

 

When they arrived at their destination, Regina guided Emma to her plush bed, nudging her back until she got the hint to sit and swept her gaze up and down the blonde’s body; the riding crop tapping her chin as she surveyed the body in front of her. Seemingly coming to a decision, Regina slowly waved her hand and watched as her characteristic purple smoke enveloped Emma; her seductive grin encompassing her face once again. 

 

Emma looked down at herself, biting her lip and gulping imperceptibly as she took in the changes to her wardrobe. She couldn’t help the groan as she was met with a blood red lace balcony bra just barely encasing her breasts, her eyes slowly moving down her bare and tight stomach to the just as lacey cheekies. A strangled ‘oh god’ slipped from her lips when she noticed the extra weight around her wrists and saw a pair of red leather encompassing them. 

 

“I thought you didn’t like red,” Emma felt not one ounce of embarrassment at her lust filled tone when she finally met Regina’s eyes.

 

“Just because I can’t stand that monstrosity you insist on calling a jacket,” Regina drawled, making her way back into Emma’s personal space and running a finger across red lace. “Does not mean I hate the color and it definitely does not mean you don’t look absolutely mouth watering in it.” 

 

Emma’s eyes shut of their own volition when Regina’s husky voice filled her ears, causing Regina’s grin to grow, along with the power she felt running through her veins. Pushing her clothed front against Emma’s nearly bare one, she whispered into Emma’s ear. 

 

“Turn around.” 

 

Emma groaned, once again, not bothering trying to stop or mask them anymore and obediently followed directions, shuddering as she felt the riding crop slide down her spine and back up; pressuring being applied, indicating that she should lay her front down on Regina’s bed. Behind Emma, Regina could not help but bite her lip at the scrumptious sight in front of her and the sweet whimper when she magically bound Emma’s wrist cuffs to the bed. She took a moment to appreciate the view; the Savior, wrapped in red lace and displayed all for her, ready for punishment. 

 

“You completely went against our agreement today. You bitched and moaned like a petulant teenager and blatantly ignored each and every time I spoke to you. You need to be punished.”

 

“Yes, Madam Mayor,” Emma crooned from her spot on the bed, sending luscious shivers throughout Regina’s body.

 

Regina ran the riding crop up and down Emma’s inner thighs, reveling in the blonde woman’s trembling body. “You will be receiving ten lashes for allowing Hook to have power over you,” she paused when she noticed Emma shooting her a look of distaste mixed with confusion. “You let him get to you. So much, that you lost control of your emotions. You gave him power over you.” 

 

Emma seemed to accept that explanation, laying her head back down on the bed and gripped the binding attached to her wrist cuffs. Regina stepped forward and placed her hand on the small of Emma’s back, keeping it there for a moment when the sheriff flinched at the unexpected contact. 

 

“You ready?” 

 

While she wasn’t giving Emma too much control; the point being to strip her of control, she didn’t want to catch her off guard either. She smiled when Emma gently nodded her head and relaxed her body. 

 

Regina brought the crop down fast against Emma's thigh; enough to sting and leave a red mark in its place but not enough to welt. She was, by no means, intending on going light on Emma, but rather giving her the opportunity to work up to accepting a harder hit. She delivered the first five in rapid succession, admittedly loving the newly formed redness that covered every inch of the exposed skin of Emma's lower half, along with the gasping breaths mingling with light whimpers.

 

"Do you remember why we're doing this, Miss Swan?" Regina asked softly, gently dragging the tip of the riding crop over the smooth curves of Emma's ass. When the only response she received were groans masked behind a bitten lip, Regina brought the crop down on Emma hard enough to cause the blonde's body to push into the bed, before almost immediately pushing back against the riding crop. 

 

Regina could not help the immensely pleased smile when she saw Emma's body responding so needily; and the accompanying moan only worked to make the smile wider. 

 

"Well? I asked you a question."

 

"Hook," Emma groaned, momentarily annoyed that Hook was interrupting her newly found activity with Regina.

 

When she noticed the thinly veiled anger that resurfaced on Emma's previously ethereal face, Regina brought the crop down again, just slightly harder than she had a moment ago. 

 

"Will ten not be enough to teach you, Emma? Why are we doing this?" rather than using the crop to spank Emma, she grazed her beautifully reddened skin while she allowed the blonde a moment to gather her thoughts.

 

"No power," Emma bit out through various whimpers and moans. "For Hook."

 

"Well done," Regina crooned, rewarding Emma with a gentle rub down, causing the blonde to groan appreciatively and push her quaking body back against Regina's hand. "And how is this power over you manifested?" 

 

Once again, it seemed that Emma let the physical take over and was seemingly unresponsive. While she delighted in the minuscule whimper from Emma upon removing her hand from the sheriff's alluring back side, she quickly brought the crop down again, this time, landing on Emma's inner thigh.

 

"Anger," Emma gasped out, decidedly not in pain, some surprise, yes, but definitely not in pain. "In anger."

 

"Good," Regina returned her hand, partially as a reward, but also to insure that there was no lasting damage to Emma's skin. "And have you released this anger?"

 

Emma took this rare moment of quiet and calm to think on her feelings. She had spent most of her life angry, but admittedly had never allowed it to consume her like Hook's refusal to accept their break up did. She felt her blood begin to boil and her skin get hot, regardless of the lack of clothing. She could not believe she had been with him so long. How did she not see the complete and total misogynist that he was? She assumed that her emotions were showing on her face because her thoughts were interrupted by slap followed by a delicious pain.

 

"Get out of your head, Emma," Regina scolded. "You will never move past this if constantly stew in it."

 

"Oh, so you want me to actually stop thinking now?" Emma snarked completely out of habit, earning a well delivered smack to the back of her thighs.

 

"While I understand that not thinking is no hardship for you," Regina began, her tone deep, all the while tapping the end of the riding crop on the small welts she's created. "That is not the point. You will not be able to move past this if you allow him to hold this power over you. You took the initiative to leave him, now release his hold on your emotions," she watched various emotions filtering through Emma's face; anger fading to frustration to annoyance and finally, her eyes closed and her face and body relaxed. 

 

"Now, are you still just as angry with the pirate as you were an hour ago?"

 

At first Emma was still, her eyes still shut. After a moment she responded with a simple head shake. 

 

While Regina was glad she had let go some of the anger, she realized that not only did they have one more count, she also needed to train Emma to respond verbally when asked a question, unless stated otherwise. Regina targeted the last remaining inch of unblemished skin and brought the crop down in a backhanded swing, resulting in the hardest spank and causing Emma's body to jump, with a juxtaposing moan that betrayed her body's harsh reaction.

 

"I believe I asked you a question. Are you as angry with Hook as you were an hour ago?"

 

"No," the response was fairly quiet and ragged, but there nonetheless.

 

Regina smiled, waved her hand to release Emma's bonds but kept the other on the small of Emma's back, signaling her to remain where she was. She walked around her bed, carefully transitioning Emma's arms from above her head to rest at her sides, gently massaging her shoulders. When she was sure that there was no residual tension left, she made her way back to other side of her bed, stopping at her vanity to grab her lotion with aloe.

 

"Emma," her tone was now gentle and soft, a drastic comparison to the one she used not five minutes previous. "I'm going to put some lotion on your legs now. There's aloe in it, so it may sting initially but it should work in soothing the skin. Then, I'm going to heal them ---"

 

"No," the abrupt response shocked Regina in its sternness.

 

"While I cannot deny how lovely this shade looks on you, I refuse to mar your skin, Emma."

 

"The lotion is fine," Emma responded quietly, her face reddening slightly as a hint of embarrassment took over. "Don't heal them."

 

"Are you sure?" Regina asked, sitting on the bed, making sure she could actually make eye contact with her and smiling softly at the tiny nod Emma offered her, who added a reassuring smile of her own. 

 

She moved to stand behind Emma once again, pouring the lotion into her hands to warm it some before applying it to Emma's body. A soft hiss quickly turned to a gentle sigh as Regina carefully worked to lotion into red, hot skin. She applied another layer of lotion, before helping Emma stand, quietly chuckling when the blonde spent the first minute wobbling; her grip tight on Regina's shoulders.

 

After a moment of successful standing, Regina noticed Emma looking around and guessed that she was looking for her clothes.

 

"You're not done yet, Miss Swan," she smirked at the confusion in Emma's eyes, while being impressed that she had yet to speak. "You accepted your punishment quite gracefully, but I also believe you need a catharsis," she carefully released Emma's arms and when she was satisfied that the blonde could stand on her own, she walked to the most open area of her room and waved her hand, producing a set of heavy chains from the ceiling. 

 

She made she they were low enough to cause no additional strain on Emma's shoulders but high enough to keep her arms lifted. She walked back to Emma, grabbed her by the O ring of one of the wrist cuffs and guided her to the chains, clipping her in and testing that they were secure before producing a flogger and explaining their next activity. 

 

"This is a flogger. It hurts less than a whip, but occasionally, more than the riding crop. Today, however, its purpose is not to cause pain. Or much. I will use it on your back until you can release the resentment you hold against your brother," she placed her index finger over Emma's lips when she saw that she was about to argue. 

 

"I am not saying it is unnatural or wrong, Emma, but it is causing you distress. You can love someone while resenting them. But his existence is not his fault. Having two unthinking idiots for parents is not his fault." 

 

Regina took a moment to cup the side of Emma's cheek and gently running the thumb across her cheek bone when she found a deep anxiety growing in Emma's eyes. 

 

"It won't hurt as much as the crop...this time," she offered with a wink and a smirk and she was rewarded with a soft smile. "It has been attributed more to a deep tissue massage. Keep in mind, however, that you will not be able to fake me out. I will know when you truly surrender and when you are pretending. Are you ready?" 

 

She watched Emma take a deep breath and gently nod against Regina's hand. After maintaining their eye contact and not moving her hand for an additional minute, Regina shot Emma a reassuring smile before moving around the blonde to face her back, testing the weight and movement of the flogger before bringing down across Emma's back.

 

She continued in a criss-cross fashion, pausing every 15-20 seconds to allow Emma a moment to breathe. She kept her hits in the median of the previous ones with the riding crop, enough to invoke redness but not enough to cause anything further; only eliciting vocal reactions from Emma when the occasional slip of fabric wrapped about her stomach.

 

Regina noticed her arm beginning to ache and started to worry, Emma's stiff posture had not changed. She wasn't sure whether the flogging wasn't working, or if Emma wasn't allowing it to work; she had a knack for believing that she deserved the worst and held tightly to everything she believed she had coming. She set the flogger at the end of her bed and retrieved the lotion from the end table; hearing rather than seeing Emma looking around for her.

 

"No," Regina answered Emma's unasked question. "We're not done," she continued her journey back to Emma, liberally spreading the lotion on her back, biting her lip when she felt the slightly raised skin. When she noticed that the lotion was more than rubbed in and she was simply resting her hands against Emma’s skin, Regina placed the lotion next to the flogger. 

 

Rather than pick it back up, Regina moved around the chained sheriff to meet her face to face. "Emma, why are you holding so tight to this?"

 

It took Emma a moment to answer; she was slightly embarrassed of being jealous of an infant but also knew that it went deeper than a case of childish jealousy. She took a deep breath and moved her eyes to Regina's. 

 

"I wasn't good enough for them, they had to replace me," Emma's voice was so distant and cold, but Regina allowed herself some relief in this step that Emma took and glad that she finally learned to speak her feelings without mumbling them first.

 

"At some point, we're going to talk about how ridiculous that statement was," Regina playfully poked Emma's side teasingly as if she didn't have the Sheriff chained to her ceiling. "Do you want to do that now, or do you want more?"

 

"More," Regina smiled at Emma's immediate answer, her smile widening as Emma quickly added a soft, "please?" and moved quickly to accommodate the blonde.

 

With her next series of strikes, Regina noticed that Emma was finally allowing herself to truly feel, rather than keeping herself locked up. After the delivery of ten quick blows, she noticed Emma's posture starting to sag but she wasn't there yet. She allowed Emma another minute to catch her breath, and when she noticed her breathing returning to normal, Regina delivered a final ten blows, slower in tempo but occasionally throwing in a sharper hit or purposefully causing the tip of the flogger wrap around Emma's waist.

 

Regina's arm dropped to her side and the flogger to the floor as she took in Emma's trembling form. She felt no regret or guilt but relief that Emma had finally released her emotions. She slowly walked toward Emma's front, allowing the obviously sobbing woman a moment to herself.

 

Without saying a word, Regina wrapped her arms around the still weeping savior, waved her hand to clear the room of their recent activities, save for Emma's ensemble, and in a surprising show of strength, she gathered Emma into her arms and carried her to the bed.

 

"Emma Swan," Regina whispered into the shaking woman's ear as she clung to Regina's body. "You are more than 'good enough'. You have sacrificed so much for this town and its people. People you barely know, some you've never met and some who most likely would not do the same for you. You have laid down your life countless times and not because you're the 'savior'. Because you are you. You are far more than 'good enough', Emma. You are perfection."

 

Despite the very obvious scoff from Emma, Regina could still feel her smile against her neck. She continued to hold the savior, who had stopped crying but still clung to her, one hand on the small of Emma's back, keeping her in place and the other on Emma's thigh, her thumb softly rubbing the skin beneath it.

 

Once she felt Emma fully relaxed, Regina untangled the blonde from her, pushing her to lie on her stomach, resting against the pillows. As gracefully as the situation allowed, Regina moved to the end of the bed to grab the lotion before positioning herself next to Emma. Prior to applying a final layer of lotion, Regina expertly undid the clasps of Emma's bra; delivering a well deserved smack to her butt when the blonde murmured "nice". She was pleased to find that the skin of Emma's back was no longer raised and smirked when the sheriff practically purred at the lotion's careful application.

 

When she was finished, Regina leaned over Emma's prone body to set the lotion on the side table and grabbed her phone, leaning against the headboard. Emma lay still for a few more moments before noticing Regina messing around on her phone and moved to get up.

 

“Uh-uh,” Regina said, not looking up from her phone, but pushing Emma back down. “You need to rest. Not just physically but emotionally,” Regina could practically feel Emma’s eyes on her, so she put her phone in her lap and turn to look at the other woman. She was met with emerald green eyes, still slightly shining with tears and holding a hint of reluctance. 

 

“Trust me, Emma. As relaxed and free as you feel now, you will feel more so if you rest. You need to give your mind and body time to recuperate and accept the change. If you rush off to work, everything we did today will be for naught.” 

 

Emma laid her head back on the pillow but still looked up at Regina with hesitance. 

 

“I promise I will still be here when you wake up,” Regina offered the blonde a reassuring smile, pleased when she seemed to relax and going back to her phone only when Emma had shut her eyes. Regina could not help the giddy smile and flutter in her chest when Emma reached up and grabbed her hand, holding it as she dozed off.

 

Regina only realized she had dozed off when her phone vibrated in her limp hand, shocking her awake. She blinked the sleep from her eyes before looking down at her phone, only to find a notification alerting her to a new email from the head of the student board. She also noticed it had been nearly an hour and a half since Emma fell asleep. She smiled when she noticed that their hands were still joined together. 

 

Carefully extracting her hand as to not wake Emma just yet, she waved a hand down the length of Emma’s upper body; not healing her against her wishes, but aiming to lessen the potential after pain, as well as re-clothing the blonde, but being sure to magically remove and clean the lingerie she had dressed Emma in for the occasion while maintaining her privacy. She also waved a hand across Emma’s eyes, diminishing any remaining signs of her tears. While she believed that they were good, healing tears, their work was for them alone, as were Emma’s tears; she should only have to divulge her true feelings on her terms and not by someone noticing that she had been crying.

 

Once Regina was satisfied that Emma was cleaned up enough and presentable, she gently shook the woman until she saw green eyes blinking open. 

 

“Time to get up, Emma,” Regina couldn’t help the small smile on her face at Emma’s reluctant expression. While Emma fought to keep her eyes open, Regina took a moment to ponder on just how much she had been smiling since she and Emma began their little endeavor, but not necessarily wanting to change it. 

 

“C’mon, sheriff, it’s your turn to pick Henry up from school.”

 

Regina watched Emma flop over on her back and languidly stretch before she finally noticed that she was fully dressed. 

 

“You changed my clothes? Kinky,” the blonde saucily threw Regina a wink, completely disregarding their lecherous activity just a couple hours before.

 

“Don’t get too excited, Princess,” Regina threw back, valiantly trying to ignore the blush setting in her cheeks. “I merely used magic.”

 

“Riiiiight, sure,” Emma winked again, a cocky smirk on her face as she pushed herself off the bed, starting to make her way to the door.

 

“Hold on, Emma,” Regina reached out and grabbed her hand. “There is something I wish to discuss with you,” she gently patted Emma’s hand when she noticed the nervous look in her eyes. “Nothing to worry about, today has brought on a slight shift in our previous arrangement. If you are feeling as you were today, like you would need a repeat of today, let me know, and we’ll meet here, and wear these,” she motioned to the lingerie, picking them up and placing them in the bottom drawer of her night stand. “You’ll always find them in here. If you just need quiet and to think or talk, my office. Alright?”

 

Emma nodded with a shy smile on her face. “Thank you, Regina. Thank you for giving me something I didn’t know I needed.”

 

“Anytime,” Regina responded with her own wink before helping Emma to her feet, then swatting her butt and pushing her toward the door. “I’ll give you a ride to your car.”

 

The two walked side by side to the door, Emma resisting the urge to grab Regina’s hand as she had before.


	4. Enough

It had been another month and the arrangement forged by Emma and Regina seemed to be going smoothly. She, and it seemed, many citizens of Storybrooke, noticed that the sheriff was much calmer these days and much less quick to anger. On a personal level, she felt a bit of a void being filled. She was glad she wasn't the Evil Queen anymore, and while there were many years that she truly did not see herself that way, the Evil Queen was, and always would be, a part of her. She worked every day of her life to never become that woman again, but couldn’t deny that it had filled her with a sense of satisfaction, being able to pull traits from that person and not becoming her again, but actually channeling parts of her to help someone. And she fully believed she was helping Emma. Granted, it was unorthodox and if Snow found out, she would undoubtedly drop dead from about fifty aneurysms, but her entire relationship with Emma was unorthodox.

 

She paused a moment to think on the word "relationship" and wonder if it truly fit with her and Emma and quickly found that it did. There was no denying that they were in a sort of relationship. She knew more things about Emma than anyone else, including her parents, who many of their conversations were about, and Emma frequently came to her for advice, help and solace.

 

She was also proud of just how much Emma was embracing their arrangement. In the past month, Emma had come into her office three times. The first occasion was a week after their time in her room, simply muttering “fucking dwarves”, kneeling by Regina’s desk and immediately calmed her breathing. On that day, Emma only needed about 15 minutes before she was totally relaxed, but Regina refused to hold back her smile when Emma glanced up at her, waiting for her sole attention, along with her permission to leave. With the smile never leaving her face, Regina gave him a slight nod and watched the woman rise and walk out of her office.

 

The other two were much longer endeavors, lasting thirty minutes and an hour respectively, and both revolving around Henry. Though Emma still clung to the belief that Henry didn’t truly love her, but only did out of familial obligation, her fears shifted from Henry only wanting her when she was the Savior, to resenting her for giving him up and that she’ll never have, nor deserve his love. On these occasions, Regina took an early lunch, sometimes cancelling appointments if she felt it called for it, and was almost considering bringing Emma back to her room. However, when she broached the subject with Emma, the blonde said it wasn’t at the stage yet, but promised to let her know if it got there; Regina having no doubt that she would.

 

The two days following their first session in Regina’s room, she found Emma waiting. It was the first time Emma was punished for not following direction and letting Regina know that she would be there, scaring the mayor half to death. She kept the punishment fairly light, seeing as it was her first infraction, she had followed every other rule and because Emma was there more to be flogged by Regina again, later confessing that she had let the baby cry longer than she should have because Snow was in the shower and hadn’t bothered to ask Emma to watch the baby, or mention that he needed anything. She knew that it wasn’t the baby’s fault and that it was years upon years of neglectful foster care that was causing this, she just needed Regina’s help to clear her mind. 

 

The next day, Regina received three texts within five minutes, stating “Need you” “Henry’s with my parents” and “Ready”. 

 

She took a few minutes to check for any new and urgent emails, cleared her schedule and informed her secretary to forward any other calls to her cell, as well as to let any callers know that she may be unreachable, but to leave a voicemail and she’d call them back ASAP. 

 

About twenty minutes later, she was heading out to her car, pleased to find that Emma hadn’t sent any additional texts; while she told Emma to let her know when she was needed at her house, she on no terms told her that she would rush over. 

 

When she stepped into her bedroom, she could not fight the delicious chills that screamed through her body at what she found. The first thing she saw was Emma, kneeling at the side of her bed, dressed – or rather, undressed – in the lingerie Regina picked for her, cuffs included. Next was the riding crop and a flogger displayed perfectly in front of her. While she seemed fairly relaxed, Regina noticed the deep bruises and shallow cuts gracing the knuckles of Emma’s right hand. 

 

She took her time crossing the room, first making her way to the closet to change out of her tight skirt into pants, though they were still designer slacks, they allowed her to move more freely than a pencil skirt; she also removed her button-up, choosing to be in just her camisole. When she finally reached Emma, she lowered into a crouch, running her fingers gently through Emma’s hair before sliding under her chin and raising Emma’s face to her own. While her body displayed an air of relaxation, she saw all of Emma’s stress and tension in her eyes. Without a word spoken, Regina reached down to Emma’s injured hand, bringing it into Emma’s eye line and raising a questioning brow.

 

“Hook kept calling me,” Emma explained, her voice barely above a whisper and embarrassment evident in her tone and refusal to meet Regina’s eyes. “He called me something like ten minutes in as many minutes. I finally called him back, told him to leave me alone and hung up.” 

 

Regina grasped Emma’s hands to still them when she noticed them beginning to shake and clench as Emma relayed the story. 

 

“Five minutes later, he walks into my office…” Emma stopped her body now shaking with fury, any and all attempts to breathe thrown out the window.

 

“Emma,” Regina quietly urged her to continue, while continuing to massage her now tightly clenched hands. “What happened.”

 

“He just strutted into my office like he fucking owned it, sat in the chair, feet propped up on my desk,” Emma paused again, trying with all her might to breathe through her anger before continuing. “And then told me that he knew I didn’t mean it when I broke up with him. That I was either ‘having my monthly’ or was feeling left out and he promised to pay more attention to me,” Emma allowed a small chuckle when she and Regina rolled their eyes in unison. 

 

“And when I told him that I one billion percent meant it, that it was over and if he didn’t leave the building that I’d arrest him. He told me I was cute when I was hormonal. So, I grabbed him by his overly abundant collar and all but threw him in the cell.”

 

Regina narrowed her eyes at Emma, knowing the story wasn’t as over as the blonde pretended it was, hoping that her glare would pierce through Emma’s downward turned skull and let her know that Regina was on to her. When the sheriff kept her eyes down, Regina moved her hand to the base of Emma’s skull and grabbed a fist full of hair, gently jerking Emma’s head back until they were once again eye to eye. 

 

Once she was sure that Emma wasn’t going to look away, and that the sheen of desire had left the newly darkened eyes, she raised Emma’s bloodied knuckles to Emma’s eyes and waited, in extremely evident impatience.

 

“After I locked him up,” Emma mumbled, her face turning an amusing shade of red. “I may have walked to the bathroom and punched a hole in the wall…”

 

Regina released Emma and pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before quickly standing and took a step back from the blonde. 

 

“On the bed.” 

 

Though she wanted to, Regina did not allow herself the usual pride at Emma’s quick and unquestioning obedience as she scrambled to her feet to lay, stomach down, on Regina’s bed; being sure to keep her feet firmly planted on the floor. Regina waved her hand, and once again, secured Emma’s wrists, then bent down to grab the riding crop and flogger, setting them next to Emma on the bed. 

 

The moment Emma settled into the bed, Regina rained five lashes onto the younger woman’s ass. She decided that she was done babying the sheriff and if she was going to put her hand through a wall every time the pirate was an asshole, she was going to be in for more than a few spankings with a riding crop. 

 

Despite the harshness of her actions, she still refused to let Emma’s skin bare permanent damage and set a comforting hand, rubbing in soft, slow circles on the raised marks. 

 

“This is completely unacceptable, Emma,” Regina began, disappointment coating her words. “Not only did you allow the pirate control over your emotions – again – you allowed him such power over you to the point of self injury. I will not stand for it,” she punctuated each word of her last phrases with a slap to Emma’s thighs. Once again, she soothed Emma’s hot skin with cool hands, allowing the blonde to catch her breath; well aware of the scattered streams of tears marring Emma’s cheeks.

 

“And if the pirate comes by again?” She watched with slight frustration as Emma’s face hardened.

 

“Make another hole,” Emma practically growled.

 

Five minutes later and Regina looked down at Emma’s exposed skin with worry. Worry that she could already see bruises forming and worry that Emma was still calling for more. She was done with this for the day. She waved her hands, ignoring each and every one of Emma’s protests, pulling the blonde into a sitting position; her frown growing as the younger woman gasped in pain. 

 

“Regina, I – “

 

“No, Emma,” Regina immediately cut her off, anger evident in her voice for the first time. “We’re done with this. We can move on to the flogging, but I’m done with this today. You are holding on to this anger for some unknown and asinine reason and I will not allow you to use this time as a catalyst for your anger, rather than allowing yourself to feel and release it. We can resume when you are ready to allow the pain to do its work. Now lay back down, I’m healing you.”

 

“Regina, no,” Emma immediately argued. She didn’t want to keep the marks to further the pain, but rather as a reminder for their time together and the reasoning and purpose behind it.

 

“Emma,” Regina adopted the tone she used when Henry was two and attempting to test each and every ounce of her patience with his tantrums. “You allowed and pushed too much today and are hurt. That is not what this is for. We are here to allow you to feel in a safe environment and you pushed yourself into further injury over a one-handed moron that refuses to listen. Now, lay. Down.”

 

Emma immediately turned and laid on her stomach, her head once again falling onto Regina’s lush pillow; feeling properly chastised and secretly grateful to be off her sore skin. She sighed softly as she felt the cooling sensation of the aloe on her skin and smiled as she also felt the gentleness Regina was using on her burning skin. When she felt the bed shift as Regina set the lotion on the side table and sit back at Emma’s side, the sheriff reached her hand back, quickly finding Regina’s and sighing with relief when the mayor squeezed it reassuringly before releasing it and moving to heal her bruised skin. Regina then got up off the bed and instructed Emma to stay where she was and rest while she set up. 

 

The brunette was glad that Emma released much sooner with the flogging, but required Regina to talk her through it. The problem centered, again, around baby Neal and Snow. Regina took note that there had yet to be a problem with David, but always with Snow. She didn’t have time to decipher whether it was Emma’s orphan complex kicking in, fully believing that as a mother, Snow should have fought to keep her being overpowered by her Charming genes and Savior title telling her that this was her destiny, to grow up alone. 

 

Emma divulged that she had told Snow that she had had enough of her using her as a live in babysitter without ever asking her and while she loved her parents and her brother, Snow needed to grow up and stop relying on her. When Emma went on to confess that she told her mother that she was moving out, Regina felt a mixture of surprise and relief. After a pause, Emma added that she also felt anger with Snow, because she tried to guilt Emma out of her decision by telling her that family sticks together and that they needed to be close should another villain surface. 

  
In a rare, but more recently frequent occurrence, Regina told Emma that she was proud of her and allowed the blonde to, once again, hold her hand as she drifted off. Seeing as Henry was with his grandparents and it was, more often than not, nearly impossible to get him from them in a timely manner, Regina allowed Emma to nap for three hours, rather than her standard hour.


	5. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina returns home after a bad day and finds a surprise waiting for her.

The following week brought another shift in not only Emma and Regina’s arrangement, but their relationship as a whole.

 

Regina was livid. The last time she was this angry, she ripped out the offender’s heart. Taking comfort in the fact that Henry was spending the night with a friend, she took the opportunity to slam each door she came into contact with, allowing herself the petulant enjoyment. Despite her allowance of door slamming, she absolutely refused to stomp but rather held her head high, regardless of the fact that she was home alone, and regally made her way to her room. 

 

Once there, she kicked off her shoes, groaning as her stocking covered toes came in contact with her lush carpet. She didn’t notice the other presence in her room until her button up was untucked and she sat at the vanity, ready to peel her thigh highs off. When she bent forward, intent on massaging her sore ankles, her eyes caught a glimpse of red lace. 

 

Knowing Emma’s forgetful nature, she nearly kicked the blonde out, partly not in the mood to deal with today’s Hook or Snow related issue and partly because she steadfastly refused to take her anger out of the luscious, pale skin. She then took a moment to actually study the kneeling blonde. She noticed that it was not the typical way she usually chose; on her knees, her hands resting atop her thighs and her head bowed. 

 

Today, she was in a full kneel; still on her knees, but with her arms stretched out in front of her and her head resting between them. Regina fought to rein in her lust at this incredibly alluring vision and finding herself only partially successful. She took another moment to take in the glorious view before pushing herself to stand and crossed the room, getting to her own knees in front of Emma. 

 

“Emma,” She said quietly, impressed when the blonde neither flinched, nor jumped. “What happened today?” 

 

While Regina secretly loved the position Emma had chosen, she was worried as to what had happened in her day that caused her to change so drastically.

 

The normally composed mayor had to fight to hide her gasp as Emma’s green eyes, shining with concern, not a little devotion and a delicious submission, met her own. 

 

“I heard you had a bad day,” the sheriff’s tone was soft and sweet, followed by a matching smile as she reached behind her to present Regina with the choice of riding crop or flogger in delectable offering. 

 

Rather than making a selection, Regina used her magic to poof them back into the drawer and instead, took Emma’s hands pulling her to follow as she walked backward toward her bed and stopping when she felt her knees hit the edge of the plush mattress. Regina wiggled her butt onto the bed, keeping hold of Emma’s hands and pulling the blond to stand between her newly spread legs. She softly moved her hands up and down Emma’s forearms, pausing to look into Emma’s eyes again, searching for any sign of reluctance, finding only a hint of nervousness hiding behind a whole lot of excitement. 

 

Regina allowed her hands to continue their journey higher, until they reached Emma’s face and cupping her jaw, she pulled the blonde’s lips to her own. Delighting in the complete and utter softness of the sheriff’s lips, Regina smiled into the slightly chaste kiss when Emma whimpered, her hands fidgeting at her sides. Taking pity on the restless sheriff and allowing the pride to course through her body and into their kiss at Emma’s restraint, Regina grasped Emma’s hands and pulled them to her waist; moaning unabashedly when they immediately gripped at her and pulled their bodies closer. 

 

Both women groaned as they broke away for the sole purpose of breathing, but a gasping Emma quickly spoke up, her forehead resting against Regina’s. 

 

“What can I do for you today?”

 

“Strip me,” Regina husked, her body growing warm at Emma’s quickly darkening eyes.

 

“Yes, madam mayor,” the blonde whispered, moving her hands to the top button of Regina’s button up, landing just above her exquisite cleavage, but her eyes never leaving Regina’s. The brunette smirked as she watched the blonde struggle to maintain eye contact with every new inch of black lace that came into view. 

 

Regina pondered with an internal chuckle on how she coincidentally wore one of her nicest pairs of lingerie; originally telling herself that just knowing what she was wearing would boost her confidence. Regardless of the reason, she was more than content to watch the savior take it all in. As she moved her arms to aid Emma in the removal of her shirt, she quelled the urge to play with the blonde curls just in her reach. Part of her yearned to reach out and pet Emma, tell her what a good little submissive she was being, but she wasn’t sure if Emma had grasped that just yet. She didn’t want to scare Emma off and put a damper on the situation. 

 

“No,” Regina grabbed Emma’s hands, which were inching under her skirt and toward the tops of her thigh highs.  “Leave those on.” 

 

She watched with thinly veiled excitement as Emma bit her lip, her eyes fluttering momentarily before quickly being replaced with a devilish smirk as she slid her hands higher, gliding her thumbs under the straps of the garter belt securing the thigh highs and massaging the skin she found underneath; just beneath the line of pain. Regina couldn’t suppress the moan that pushed its way forward and relished in the splendid feeling before smacking Emma’s arm and half heartedly glaring at her. 

 

“Patience,” her voice dancing between playful and stern. “Or we’re done.”

 

Emma smiled unapologetically, but dutifully removed her hands from beneath Regina’s skirt and changed her course, grasping the zipper and slowly pulled it down. With the zipper free, Emma gripped the bottom of Regina’s skirt, catching Regina’s eyes, silently asking for permission and when she received a short nod, unceremoniously yanked the skirt off of Regina. 

 

With most of her clothing removed, Regina pushed herself off of her bed, not bothering to push Emma backward, but allowing their bodies to brush against each other in delectable friction. She looked into Emma's eyes, which had somehow darkened to an almost forest green, keeping them on her own and putting her arms around the blonde, ran her hands over every inch her they could reach, reveling in the incredibly soft and smooth skin she found. 

 

She grinned as she felt Emma's hands on her shoulders, itching with the need for permission to roam, along with the sheriff's ever active face; eyes frequently and rapidly moving between Regina's eyes and her lips, tongue seemingly involuntarily darting out to wet her own lips.

 

When Regina was able to gain Emma's full attention once again, she gave her a short nod; a content sigh escaping when Emma's hands immediately slipped into her hair and pushed their lips together. Her hands, which had been resting on Emma's thighs just below her ass, gripped tighter as the blonde pushed her tongue into an eager and awaiting mouth.

 

When they inevitably had to break apart to breathe, Regina rested her forehead against Emma's and released her grip on the blonde's thighs, slowly moving her hands up to rest on her rib cage.

 

"On the bed," Regina rasped, placing a soft kiss on Emma's lips before releasing her.

 

Emma slowly crawled onto the bed in a manner so plainly obviously intended to tease Regina that she even peeked over her shoulder with mock innocence and asked, "Where would you like me, Madam Mayor?"

 

"Top of the bed," Regina responded, her eyes narrowed knowingly, seeing completely through Emma's façade. "On your back."

 

Despite knowing that Regina was on to her, Emma continued her slow crawl toward the top of Regina's bed, settling into the pillows and artfully arching her back before, either instinctually or because she had become well trained, resting her hands above her head.

 

Regina wasted no time climbing onto her bed and straddling Emma. Her hands resting on Emma's ribs, Regina pushed her hips against the sheriff’s, taking in and loving all the reactions she was getting from the blonde; from her quickened breath to her fluttering eyelashes and bottom lip pulled between teeth. 

 

Regina slowly leaned forward, pressing her torso against Emma's, kissing her lip before taking it between her own teeth and nibbling a moan out of Emma. She released the blonde's lip before soundly kissing her, never changing the speed of her gently rocking hips. After a minute, Regina pulled back, smirking at a pouting Emma and moved her hands to Emma's back, her hands at the clasp of her bra and her eyes questioning. While she was delivering a substantial amount of instructions, she would not take this step without Emma's permission.

 

"Please," Emma consented with a nod and a smile, lifting her back slightly to give Regina a bit more room.

 

A collectively held breath released the moment Regina's hands came into contact with Emma's chest. Regina lightly grazed her thumbs over Emma's nipples, relishing in how such a small act could create such a delicious reaction in the blonde; her body moving in almost a wave beneath the brunette. Regina continued her gentle caress to the point where Emma was whimpering in between gasps, her hips were moving nonstop and chuckling softly when the blonde outwardly whined when Regina withdrew her hands.

 

Green, unfocused eyes blinked open in time to see Regina reach behind her own back, ready to remove her bra. Once the garment was removed and tossed on the floor, Emma groaned, finally moving her arms in hopes of getting her hands on the deliciousness before her.

 

"Uh-uh," Regina smirked when she noticed Emma's movement. She laid her body on Emma's once again, twin gasps filling the minute space between them. 

 

Pinning Emma's arms above her head, Regina paused further conversation to capture Emma's lips again; too caught up in the enchanting feeling to resist. Regina dipped her tongue into Emma's mouth for a moment, gently caressing the other woman's tongue before pulling away. A disappointed moan being quickly interrupted as plump lips ran along Emma's jaw line, switching between feather light kisses to gentle nips, momentarily dropping down to her throat before jumping back to continue their trek to Emma's ear, lightly nibbling her earlobe before whispering, "Keep these here." 

 

She began softly rubbing her thumbs on Emma's wrist to indicate what she was talking about. "You move them and I stop."

 

Regina chuckled softly as she took in Emma's confused and hopeless expression.

 

"Did you expect to get away without punishment?" Regina asked, half serious and have teasingly. "You - once again - neglected to inform me of your presence in my home."

 

"I was surprising you," Emma's face had become completely crestfallen.

 

Regina released Emma's wrists, pleased when the blonde made no attempt to move and pushed herself up, gently cupping Emma's cheek. 

 

"That's why this is your only punishment," she explained softly, placing a light peck on Emma's lips before sitting up fully. "It is also an excellent lesson in restraint. You often allow your emotions to control you and your body likes to follow suit. Rather than focusing on what you want to do, feel what I am doing. Just feel, Emma."

 

Emma took a deep breath and relaxed her body, nodding her acquiescence to Regina, who rewarded her with a sweet smile and gentle kiss, then rose up and back into a straddle.

 

"You know, you really do have an incredible body," Regina mused, absentmindedly running her hands up and down Emma's rib cage. "If I had known what lay beneath that horrid jacket and those exceedingly tight tank tops and skinny jeans all these years, there would've been a lot less fighting," Regina winked at Emma, who could only nod in response, unable to properly form actual words as long as Regina's hands were on her. "

It's actually kind of rude that you kept this from me," Regina continued on with her speech while her hands slowly, yet surely, inched their way higher up Emma's torso. 

 

The blonde was dying to grab Regina's wrists and put her hands where they ought to be and sighed contentedly when they finally arrived at their destination, despite their owner being preoccupied with semantics. Regina noticed Emma's change in demeanor, smirking at how the point was for Emma to learn to focus and here she was, rambling about the impossibly alluring body beneath her but paying it no mind. 

 

Pushing down all thoughts other than Emma's body and playing with it, Regina scooted down so she was straddling Emma's thighs rather than her hips, allowing her to lower her mouth to an eager nipple begging for her attention.

 

Emma's approval sounded so clearly and abruptly, Regina was sure the neighbors got a little taste of their activities. With one hand between the blonde’s shoulder blades, Regina could feel Emma's muscles fighting the need bury her hands in the brunette's hair to ensure that she never left her current position. She also noticed that while Emma valiantly kept her arms still, the rest of her body was another story; from her heaving chest to her rocking hips. Deciding that she rather enjoyed the reactions she was getting from Emma, Regina replaced her mouth with her hand while switching to the other nipple, hoping to entice even more from Emma's already quaking body.

 

A moment later, Regina removed both mouth and hand, intending to continue south, but pausing and shooting a knowing look at Emma when she felt a distinct movement. She found Emma's bottom lip, once again, trapped between her teeth, but the blonde had now enlisted the aid of the pillow beneath her as a deterrent from grabbing Regina. When she was positive that Emma continued to do as she was told, Regina continued her descent alternating between licking, kissing and nipping almost every inch of her taut stomach.

 

While she loved the stark contrast of the red lace against Emma’s pale skin, they created a distinct and unwanted barrier between Regina and her delicious main goal. Hooking her fingers under the waistband and slowly pulled them down long, toned legs, not caring where they landed once they were removed. She crawled back between Emma’s legs, planting open mouth kisses on her soft inner thighs.

 

Upon reaching Emma’s hip, Regina wrapped her arms around her thighs, feeling them quiver with anticipation. Before making her way to where both women wanted her to be, she paused to leave a well made hickey just below Emma’s hip.

 

The sound that burst from Emma the moment Regina’s mouth was on her was like heaven to the brunette’s ears and she aimed to make it happen again. She lightly grazed the tip of her tongue over Emma’s clit, grinning as a moan mixed with a frustrated growl tore from Emma’s throat, the blonde’s hips trying to gain more pressure.

 

“Reginaaaaa,” Emma whined in a half sob as the brunette maintained the miniscule pressure, unwaveringly teasing her sheriff.

 

Taking pity on the blonde, who was working so hard to obey instructions despite the cruel teasing taking place between her legs, Regina ran the flat of her tongue against Emma’s clit before tenderly sucking, slowly increasing pressure with Emma’s continued quickening breaths. With the occasional added flick of her tongue, Regina could feel Emma getting closer and closer, her hips in constant motion and an endless stream of moans, but she felt as if she was holding back.

 

“Emmmmma,” Regina crooned, attempting to get the blonde’s attention, having to say her name an additional time before dazed, green eyes met her own. “Why are you holding back?” 

 

She chuckled as Emma’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly before her head fell back against the pillows as Regina dropped numerous kisses to her inner thighs, maintaining eye contact throughout. 

 

“Are you worried that you’ll lose control? That I’ll leave you wanting, yearning to come?” 

 

Emma let a deep throated moan as Regina placed a kiss just above Emma’s clit, filling it with promise. 

 

“Let go, Emma.” Regina dropped all sense of teasing and gentleness, bringing Emma flush against her mouth, humming when she felt the other woman start to let go of her control. 

 

In a matter of minutes, Emma’s back was arching sharply off the bed and her thighs clamping around Regina’s head, the brunette only relenting when Emma began begging for reprieve. As Regina pulled back, she laid her face on Emma’s thigh, a wide smile on her face and pride shining from her when she caught sight of Emma’s hands, while still tangled in her own hair, dutifully remained above her head. 

 

Regina placed a light kiss on the skin just below her lips before moving up Emma’s body, unable to stop the soft laugh as Emma lazily wrapped the right leg around Regina’s, but moved nothing else.

 

“Well done, Emma,” She hummed, brushing blonde hair from her forehead before moving to untangle Emma’s fingers from her hair, gently massaging them once they were free. She lay her head on Emma’s chest, listening to her heart rate and breathing returning to normal, but still unable to resist placing the occasional kiss on Emma’s sternum.

 

“Regina, please,” Emma’s raspy voice breaking Regina out of her reverie and causing her to prop her chin on the hand resting on Emma’s chest, her eyes finding Emma’s pleading gaze. “Please. I need to touch you.”

 

Regina pushed herself up and forward so she was eye to eye with Emma, kissing her slowly and deeply before intertwining their fingers and pulling Emma into a sitting position, their bodies automatically wrapping around the other. Emma took a moment to relish in the feeling of being so close physically and emotionally to Regina. 

 

She nuzzled her nose into the brunette’s neck while running her hands up and down her olive toned back. Emma pulled back just enough to find Regina’s lips and delicately brushing them together, while bringing her hand around to lightly brush against the brunette’s nipple, causing Regina to gasp into their kiss and Emma to grin.

 

“Emma,” Regina breathed, grabbing the blonde’s wrist and pushing it decidedly lower. “I need you,” Emma pulled back and caught Regina’s eyes while pushing past black lace.

 

“Oh, God,” Emma sighed at the delectable heat surrounding her fingers and the woman clutching her body. The movement of Emma’s fingers was slow and light, aiming to entice, not necessarily intended to fully satisfy but also allowing her to simply enjoy the feeling of Regina.

 

“No teasing,” Regina growled, gripping Emma’s wrist to ensure that her message came across loud and clear.

 

Emma smirked but acquiesced, immediately hastening the speed and pressure her fingers applied and brought her free hand to the base of Regina’s head, gripping the hair there and bringing their mouths together; their kiss dancing between rough and delicate but just enough to evoke countless moans from Regina.

 

Soon enough, Emma’s name was falling through Regina’s lips like a prayer, her body rocking in time. 

 

Emma moved her fingers lower, momentarily earning a look of utter fury, which was quickly chased away by sheer bliss as Emma pushed two fingers into her, allowing the heel of her palm to rhythmically brush against Regina’s clit. The brunette clung to Emma’s body, one hand tangled in Emma’s curls and the other gripping her thigh. Emma leaned forward, kissing and nibbling Regina’s neck. Instantly feeling the brunette tighten around her, Emma sucked the curve between Regina’s neck and her shoulder, while curling the fingers and keeping her palm in constant contact with her clit. In moments, every inch of Regina was pulsing around Emma. The brunette clung to Emma a few minutes longer before moving to rest her forehead against the sheriff’s.

 

“Thanks for coming over,” Regina whispered, still wrapped around Emma, completely unsure of when she planned to extract herself.

  
“Yeah,” Emma smirked, pressing a small kiss on Regina’s nose. “Wasn’t a total waste of time,” Emma winked at her brunette companion, earning a sturdy smack on her thigh and a kiss on her cheek.


	6. Upstairs

Regina Mills was smiling, almost constantly. 

People may have noticed but rarely ever said anything. Things were good. She never thought that she would believe, or even think, the words, but she was happy. Despite the unconventionality of their relationship, she and Emma spent a great deal of time together. 

What started as anger and stress relief, only seeing each other when Emma asked for her; developing a system that was so ridiculously “Emma”, Regina couldn’t help but laugh. 

Red apple emoji, Emma was waiting for her after Regina had a bad day; a swan emoji if Emma had a bad day. On the off occasion that Regina would need Emma to hold off, she would invite her over under the guise of a family dinner and over the course of time, family dinners, just her, Emma and Henry, became a regular thing, whether Emma needed Regina after or not. On nights when neither woman needed to enter the confines of Regina’s room, they frequently sat in the study or the living room, occasionally talking past midnight, their eyes beginning to droop before either thought to look at a clock. 

Those nights when they did venture to Regina’s room, the brunette found herself letting Emma stay more and more, though the blonde insisted on leaving before Henry woke up. She said it was because she didn’t think Henry really needed to know why or how long she’d been staying and that she didn’t want to make up a story or withhold the truth, because, Lord knows, the boy would dig and meddle until he got his answer and she really wasn’t game for traumatizing him. 

She also quietly confessed that maybe she wasn’t ready to tackle the family morning after, but was always sure to kiss Regina before slipping out, letting her know that she wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed; hoping that with each kiss, Regina felt the promise that she would be back.

Regina could not help the cocky smirk on her face when Emma told her that after their first night together, she found that Hook didn’t get to her as much. She walked into the station the next morning, placed the silencing spell Regina had taught her around the cell Hook was in and got more work done than she had all week. 

When she told Regina, Emma had the biggest smile on her face, which only grew when the mayor told Emma how proud she was of her; not only for successfully recreating the spell, but for getting past the problem with the pirate. While Emma still had issues with her parents and brother, she was quickly letting them go and Regina was slowly convincing Emma, sometimes through flogging, a riding crop or even simple conversation, to sit down with them and talk it through.

On a chilly Tuesday afternoon, Regina was reading through a dry-as-week-old-toast report on street infrastructure and received a text from Emma: swan. She was a little surprised because the sheriff seemed to be doing okay the past couple of weeks but she jumped at the chance to get a break from the report. She felt a hint of guilt over neglecting an important matter, but there was only so much her brain could handle.

When she walked into her room ten minutes later, she found the room already set up with chains hanging from the ceiling and assumed Emma had the flogger in front of her. While it was early enough in the day for Henry to still be at school, she made a mental note to have a “discussion” with Emma about her presumptuous nature, but for now, she made her way to the blonde, curious as to what had her this upset. 

However, when she got to the blonde, finding the flogger in front of her, Emma looked up, tears already in her eyes and immediately held up the flogger.

“Emma,” Regina began, further statement interrupted by Emma’s shaking head. “Do you want to talk fir—“

“Please, Regina,” Emma’s voice cracked, but no tears fell and she made no attempt to move, waiting for Regina to give the word.

Regina sighed softly; slightly unsure if this was the best course of action. While she fully believed this was the best way to help Emma, a woman who had never been much of a talker and frequently kept her feelings bottled, but she didn’t want Emma to use it as a crutch; it was meant as a release, a way to get her to relax her tight hold on her emotions enough to actually talk through things. 

Seeing the desperation in the blonde’s eyes, Regina pushed her worries aside and taking the flogger from Emma, she intertwined their fingers and helped her to her feet, slowly guiding her to the chains. Tossing the fogger on the floor, Regina delicately grasped Emma’s wrists and secured them just above her head; her hands running down the savior’s arms before stepping around her and retrieving the flogger.

It only took ten lashes before Emma broke, sobs wracking her body and fighting to keep herself upright while her body tried to cave in on itself. Regina dropped the flogger uncaringly to the floor and quickly made her way to Emma, pressing herself against the blonde’s back and wrapping her arms around the shaking body, placing soft kisses along her shoulder. Not bothering to unhook Emma’s cuffs, Regina poofed them to her bed, finding the blonde instantly wrapped around her. 

In a few short minutes, Regina felt the tears subsiding, breathing calming, going from heaving to slightly shuddering. Emma continued to cling to the brunette, keeping her face buried in her neck but focused on Regina’s breathing to center her own.

“He called me ‘Emma’,” her voice rough and stuttering.

“Who called you ‘Emma’?” Regina would normally be frustrated with Emma’s penchant for jumping into the middle of an explanation, but today she was glad that the sheriff was actually talking.

“Henry. This morning,” Emma whispered, her voice growing stronger, but still maintaining her hold on Regina’s body, drawing comfort from her soothing hands.   
“He left without his lunch, so I ran after him to give it to him. He sighed, rolled his eyes and said ‘I’ll stop at Granny’s, Emma’ and ran off after his friends. He’s spent the past two years calling me ‘Ma’, I’m pretty sure at one point he called me ‘momma’. But there hasn’t been a villain, no one has needed saving. I’m just the sheriff of a small town with next to no crime and no reason for my son to want me.”

“He’s a teenager, Emma, as much as I hate to admit it,” Regina spoke in a soothing tone, her hands running up and down Emma’s back. “He gets embarrassed at the drop of a hat, finally has friends here that are his age and growing with him. He’s fighting to fit in and being the son of the Savior and Evil Queen –“

“Former,” Emma muttering. “Former Evil Queen.”

“Right, former Evil Queen,” Regina smirked, kissing Emma’s temple before continuing. “Regardless, he is a teenage boy; they tend to speak before thinking. I’m sure he meant nothing of it,” she sighed against and pulled Emma closer as the blonde shrugged unconvinced. 

“Stay for dinner. Spend time with Henry away from his friends and you’ll see that he couldn’t love you more.”

While Regina loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, she smiled when she heard a pair of delighted laughter sounding from the living room. Henry and Emma had started Wreck It Ralph after dinner and had been giggling ever since. She heard Vanellope VonShweets, with the help of Emma Swan, mumble “and I wrap myself up like a little homeless lady,” followed by a chuckle from Henry, who also seemed amused that his other mother could recite most Disney movies by heart. 

As she made the two hot chocolate and tea for herself, she sincerely hoped that this helped ebb Emma’s fears. As predicted, Henry was beyond excited that she was there when he got home, acting as if everything was right in the world. This carried on through dinner and he was the one that suggested a movie.

Regina came back down after kissing Henry goodnight; much to his chagrin, but smirking when she told him that as long as he was under her roof, he was getting a goodnight kiss. She found Emma in the study, nursing a tumbler of cider and staring into the fire place. The brunette poured herself a glass before joining Emma on the couch.

“Feel better?” She sighed imperceptibly when Emma simply shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

“I know he loves me, I do,” Emma explained, surprising Regina when she didn’t need to prod an answer out of the blonde. “I’m just new to this mothering thing. He spent the first three years of our time together acting like I put the sun in the sky, and now that I’m not running off saving Storybrooke from every damned Disney villain, I’m just,” she paused with a sigh, her shoulder sagging slightly. “Emma.”

“There is nothing wrong with being just ‘Emma’,” Regina responded in her most convincing tone, reaching over to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind Emma’s ear. “I happen to be a fan of ‘just Emma’.”

Emma chuckled at the ridiculously overdone wink the brunette threw at her. Draining the cup in her hand, she moved forward to place the tumbler on the coffee table; on a coaster, of course, Emma turned to face Regina, slightly apprehensive about what she was ready to confess.

“Regina?” She smiled shyly when Regina turned her own body to properly face Emma, her expression so open and accepting. Emma took a deep breath, moving her eyes to her hands before making herself push out the words she’s been containing for the past couple of months. “I really like it when you...you know.” 

She looked up to see Regina still just as accepting, but now just a little confused, Emma took another deep breath, trying to ignore the deep blush blossoming on her face. 

“Take my control,” the words came out hurried and mumbled, but having become well-versed in the vernacular of Emma Swan, Regina smiled at the words.

The brunette took in Emma’s face, still bright red with slight embarrassment, but free as well. 

“Emma,” she started, grabbing the sheriff’s hands when she started to look dejected. “In … relationships … similar to ours, there is often a contract.”

“I know,” Emma smiled, grateful that Regina wasn’t about to kick her to the curb. “And while I feel like I’ve come a long way from the person I was when I got here, and even farther to the person I was at 18. I just,” she paused, trying to formulate the words that expressed how much she wanted this to continue, without making it sound like it didn’t mean a lot to her. 

“I’m still an orphan, and I know that mentality has a tendency to take over at the best times. I just don’t want anything to ruin what we have. I like it,” she rolled her eyes as she felt the blush rise up again. “And I need it. Upstairs?”

Regina smiled brightly at Emma’s stumbled confession and shy smirks. She grasped Emma’s face, dropping a serious of light kisses on her lips, before standing. 

“Upstairs. On your knees.”

“Yes, Madam Mayor,” Emma purred before giggling and disappearing in a puff of white, glittering smoke; leaving Regina to roll her eyes, smiling soft and an undeniable fluttering in her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!
> 
> I want to thank my amazing artist Moria (standbackufools) for her beautiful work and awesome pep talks! You can find her on here and tumblr! She's wonderful and amazing!!
> 
> Special thanks to lesbrarian for helping me re-format this fic so y'all can actually read it!


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